Do I Love Him?
by Departed
Summary: Two days before the final battle and Katara is left with a letter; a letter from Aang explaining his love for her. But does she love him back? Oneshot, Kataang.


**Do I Love Him?**

The Western Air Temple wasn't much of a beauty at night. Especially if nothing but the moon illuminated the buildings only slightly, barely enough to see.

I sighed to myself, trying desperately to drift off into a deep slumber, but it was even difficult to close my eyes. It has been like this for the past few days. I would just lie there, gazing into the starless sky as thoughts roamed through my mind. Everything from the war to the future.

I just couldn't control those thoughts. Every second I would think to myself._ What if we fail?_ And every night when I'd be lucky enough to sleep, it would just end badly with a nightmare. Everything would go wrong. The people I love would die in front of my eyes. Everyone. Even… Aang.

I shifted from my normal position, facing anything but the sky. It just so happened I came face to face with my snoring brother, who, unable to breathe through his noise, blasted me with his sour breath. I groaned in disgust, wanting nothing more to push him aside.

I sat up, wide awake now as my eyes drifted around my surroundings. It wasn't too difficult to see the outlines of our army, sleeping peacefully as the sounds of breathing broke the silence.

I couldn't help but smile as memories of the past few weeks appeared, causing my heart to flutter happily. A lot has happened since our arrival in the Western Air Temple. We were able to release Fire Nation prisoners who agreed to help us with the final battle, including old friends. And now, as I watched with curiosity, it finally hit me that the fate of the world will be decided in two days. Everyone's survival is in the hands of the Avatar.

I stood up, trying my best to fight back the panic that suddenly appeared. I closed me eyes, thinking about anything as a way to calm myself down. But Aang's face continued to pop up, followed by a frightening one of the Fire Lord.

_Where is he, anyway?_

I opened them, gazing at each figure to make out who was who. But when I thought about it, I realized that I haven't spoken to Aang in a while. Nonetheless seen him. There were times where he was seen roaming through the temple, practicing his firebending, but that was pretty much it. It's like he was ignoring everyone.

Without a second thought, I began dodging bodies as I quietly made my way across the crowd, taking extra time as I passed by Toph, who could have easily sensed the vibrations. I sighed in relief as I heard her snoring. When she snored, she was definitely in a deep sleep.

It was beginning to become cold as I took the route around the temple, using previous knowledge to guess where he could be. I shivered slightly, holding onto my arms. It must be cold. Summer was coming to an end along with the arrival of Sozin's comet.

I crashed into a tree, too distracted with my thoughts. I nearly slapped myself, a way to stop myself from thinking. But I realized it wasn't the thinking that was causing my clumsiness as I tripped over a step, falling flat on my face. I raised my head up, blowing on a strand of hair as I stared straight ahead, annoyed.

Suddenly, I heard a groan deep in the temple, followed by some yelling with words I couldn't understand. But the voice seemed familiar.

I stood up, taking slow steps as I reached a dim room to the right. My eyes darted from the candle on the desk to the boy sitting beside it. He seemed to be oblivious to my presence.

"Aang?" I whispered quietly, my voice cracking in between. I nearly yelled out myself after he jumped up, turning his head quickly to face me. The expression on his face didn't change after seeing me. Not even a sigh of relief.

"Oh, um… hi K-Katara. What're you doing up so late?" He asked rather quickly, scratching the back of his neck nervously with one hand. The other was laid on the desk, covering some kind of parchment.

I eyed him, curiously. "I could ask you the same question."

Even with a small candle lighting the room, I saw a faint blush appear on his round face. He continued to stutter. "I-I couldn't sleep. You know. The usual nightmares. Fire Lord."

I nodded, understandingly. "I know. Me, too." I paused, taking in the sight of the young boy in front of me. I couldn't help but think about how much I cared for him. After all those months of traveling, watching him grow from the goofy kid he was to something much more… different. I smiled. "I just can't believe how long it's been, Aang. In two days, you'll be fulfilling your destiny."

I heard a slight groan from him as he looked away, his grey eyes twinkling with sadness.

"You're scared, aren't you?" I asked him, feeling the sorrow, as well.

He made eye contact again, but the look on his face didn't change. He merely nodded. "It's just unbelievable, I guess. This war has been going on for so long. A hundred years. And now everyone's depending on me to end it. I don't think I can do it."

It overwhelmed me to look at him like this. A helpless boy with the weight of the world in his shoulders. I gave him a weak smile, trying desperately to lighten his mood. "Aang, I _know _you're ready. You can do this. I believe in you."

"What if I don't come back?"

My stomach jolted in surprise as I grabbed onto the wall for balance. The words reappeared in my mind as I played it over and over again, making my head spin. We had the same conversation before the invasion. The day we failed on Day of Black Sun. The day he kissed me.

I touched my lips softly, creating the same tingle I had when his lips touched mine. I blushed ferociously, unable to care as he stood there, watching me.

"Are you okay?"

I nodded, putting my hand down as I bit my lip. _How could I have forgotten about that?_

I sighed, too embarrassed to bring the kiss up. I didn't need more problems to deal with. He probably only kissed me as a way to say goodbye, since everything couldn't be said in a matter of words.

"You'll come back, Aang. And I'll be waiting. We all will." I replied, a sudden urge appearing to hug him as comfort. But as I walked closer, he yelled out, causing me to flinch as I walked back.

"No!"

He began rustling through some papers on his desk, grabbing the one he had been hiding beneath his hand and crumbling it up in panic. He held onto it tightly, turning towards me as I gave him a questioning look.

He smiled awkwardly, forming his face into a look of innocence, which looked completely fake. "Just… uh, some battle plans I've been working on."

I smirked, knowing very well he's always been a terrible liar. "Then why won't you let me see them?"

He paused, looking around nervously for a distraction. He shrugged. "You might turn against us…?"

I furrowed my eyebrows, disappointed that he wouldn't tell me the truth. "Aang, you know you can tell me anything."

His face softened, showing regret as he whispered with his eyes down. "I know."

"Then why are you keeping secrets from me?" I asked, feeling hurt as he refused to answer.

I sighed, too tired to argue. "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. I'm not pressuring you." I gave him a smile of reassurance. "Come on. You need some rest before the day comes. Even for tomorrow, Toph and Zuko will probably force you to train. And it might not be bad to practice waterbending, too."

I didn't expect him to move. He continued to stand there, looking at anything but me, and I knew he wasn't going to follow. I waited for a minute before leaving.

"Katara… wait!"

I came to a halt, turning to face him. He began blushing tomato red. I waited patiently before he began speaking, stuttering uncontrollably.

"I… I- Is it poss-ible to fall for your best… friend?"

I stared at him in aw. "What do you mean?"

He continued to stutter, rubbing his foot against the ground and playing with his fingers. "C-can you fall in love with your best friend?"

I became nervous as well, a blush creeping up on my cheeks. "Well, yes. Of course it's possible." I began twirling a strand of hair, unable to talk. My throat became dry and my head began pounding. "Are you talking about Toph?"

He had a look of sheer terror at first, but it quickly changed to his usual shy one. He held onto the crumbled up paper, turning it around his fingers as he thought. He sighed miserably, walking towards me with regret. "Here," he mumbled, handing it to me. I took it with care, my eyes not leaving his face.

"Just don't read it until I leave. And whatever happens, Katara, just know I'm risking our friendship and I'll understand your decision." He mumbled under his breath, taking one last glance at me before walking quickly out the door.

I watched in silence as he left, in no hurry at all to open the parchment. But curiosity took over nonetheless, causing me to open it up with trembling hands. I put it beside the light, reading with difficulty as the ink had smudged.

_Katara,_

_I can't believe I'm actually writing this, but I guess it's the only way to express what I'm feeling right now, whether you read it or not. It's just killing me, Katara. Since I first laid eyes on you, I couldn't help but feel something. Something more than friendship. You could say we've been the best of friends after traveling together, doing pretty much everything together. But after all those months of just being with you, you've just taken over my mind._

_Just looking at you makes me happy. One touch from you makes my stomach churn. And kissing you… makes my heart explode. I never knew I could have these feelings, being a monk and all. But after having you in my mind day and night for so long, I knew I couldn't deny it. You mean so much more to me than you know. And after going over how beautiful, kind, caring, smart, and responsible you are, I've finally realized my feelings for you are stronger than I thought. At first, I thought it was just a crush. Then I actually thought that I loved you. But I was wrong._

_I'm completely and madly in love with you. I know we're too young, especially me, but are we not too young for war? I guess it doesn't matter, since I'm almost positive you don't feel the same way. We're just friends, after all. And I'd rather stay friends then drift apart because of words that probably mean nothing to you. It's ju_

The letter ended there, but my eyes continued to skim the words over and over again. My whole body was trembling and even as I sat, the whole room began spinning. I placed my head onto my palm, attempting to control the pounding in my ears, but it became worst.

_Aang's in love with me?_

I was in utter shock. My mouth laid open as I continued to read the words. _I'm completely and madly in love with you._

My heart began thumping wildly, as if it was about to fall out of my chest. _He loves me. He loves me. Do I love him back?_

I shook my head fiercely, closing me eyes as I denied it. _Aang's just a friend. Nothing else!_

And my eyes laid upon the sentence that made my heart break. _I guess it doesn't matter, since I'm almost positive you don't feel the same way. _

_Aang's just a friend. Aang's just a friend._

And yet, there was something more as I thought about him. The first time I saw him, he was just a playful child. Careless with everything. Irresponsible!

_But he's changed!_

I turned my head quickly, attempting to stop the fighting in my mind. But I continued to think about him. He HAS changed over the months. But he's still the same goofy kid he's always been.

_And is that bad?_

I thought about it, smiling a bit as memories from all those waterbending lessons came up. I supposed it wasn't.

_Then what's the problem?_

He's the Avatar! He has more important things to think about!

_And isn't that why he's responsible?_

As I thought about it, being the Avatar has changed him. He's young, but he agreed to fulfill his destiny no matter how scared he was. He learned to accept the world as it was. But do I love him?

_I don't know. Do you?_

I sighed, biting my lip. Of course I loved him, but as a brotherly way. I couldn't possibly-

_How do you feel!_

As I sat there, holding the letter in my hands, I continued to think about him. My heart fluttered every time I saw his grey eyes, staring back at me. I smiled as I imagined him happy. And when he kissed me…

I touched my lips again. I remembered it clearly as he shocked me with a wave of electricity. I could have sworn I saw fireworks.

_Does he make you happy?_

Yes.

_Are you nervous when he's around?_

Yes.

_Does it kill you to think of him as only a friend?_

Yes.

I gasped, standing up. My mind was playing tricks with me. I couldn't possibly have thought of him as more than a friend. _Could I? Could this mean… I love him?_

I smiled to myself, shaking my head. Reality hit me. I have known the answer for so long, I was just too scared to admit it.

I stood up, grabbing the letter as I ran out the door.

I didn't just love him... I was in love with him.


End file.
